Sweet Sixteen
by AnnaAppl
Summary: Susan, Trina, and Janet reflect on their lives at the end of the summer of 1976 compared with their lives as sixteen year-olds. Disclaimer: Some of the dialogue in chapters 1 and 2 is taken directly from the show. I am NOT claiming ownership.
1. Chapter 1: Susan

AUGUST 1976

Susan Miller took a cursory glance out the window as she moved to sit on the sofa, a Tab in her hand. Outside, two girls who couldn't have been more than sixteen walked past, looking as though they barely noticed the world going on around them- whatever they were talking so animatedly about must have been important. Susan wondered if they were among her seventeen year-old daughter Laurie's classmates at the high school. Looking closer, she realized that the tall, blonde girl was Cindy Garrett- Susan couldn't believe how different Cindy looked. It had only been one month- two, tops, since she had last seen Cindy- but she certainly had changed, with her newly attained height and hair color.

Seeing Cindy, Susan was suddenly lost in thought, wistfully remembering her teenage years. In reality, they had stopped when she was sixteen- the age when she had not only met, but gotten pregnant by and married Bruce Miller. She had known right then that her childhood was over. She would spend her days taking care of the baby she was pregnant with as well as Bruce and anyone else who came along.

Laurie, entering the room carrying a stack of books per usual, broke Susan's train of thought.

"What are you staring at?" she inquired, craning her neck to see what had attracted her attention.

"Oh, nothing." responded Susan. "Where are you off to?" she asked Laurie, attempting to come out of her reverie and focus on her life at hand.

"Book drive."

"May I see?" Laurie handed her the pile.

"Your Nancy Drews? We read these together when you had the chicken pox!" Susan said somewhat achingly.

"Gotta make room on the shelves somehow. Time to move on."

As Susan watched her daughter head out the door to the library, she wondered what Laurie thought of her life at this age- if she ever considered it at all. She was only a year older than Susan had been when she had gotten pregnant with Laurie. How close Laurie was to having the same fate as her!

Susan marveled at the fact that her life was coming full-circle. Over the summer, with all of the changes the Millers had experienced just by meeting Tom and Trina Decker- they had been catapulted into their fun and freewheeling lifestyle, affecting not only their relationships with one another but also the Thompsons- who had somewhat reluctantly followed the Millers' circle change.

When she had settled down at the tender age of sixteen, she imagined her family life in the future being the same as it had been at the start. But now, with the changes that the past few months had brought, Susan was a little doubtful that she was running the family the way she was supposed to. Now, at the end of the summer, she had finally realized that change was not only inevitable but necessary. The times were changing, and Susan needed to, too.

Taking a sip of her Tab, she glanced out the window again. This time, the sight of Laurie heading down the street greeted her. There were plenty of times in Susan's life when she had no idea what Laurie was doing or thinking, but she was confident that Laurie was making the right choices in her life, ones that would leave her satisfied in the end.


	2. Chapter 2: Trina

AUGUST 1976

Trina Decker was seated in her living room, sipping a Tab and watching Let's Make a Deal while waiting for Tom to get home from work. She heard the sound of a front door slam, and turning her head to the activity outside on Sheridan Road, Trina saw Laurie Miller walking down the path from the Millers' front door and turning to head down the street. Although Trina had only met Laurie a few times, it always struck her how intelligent and mature Laurie seemed. Trina could clearly remember their first encounter.

"Hey, Mom," Laurie had said as she walked through the kitchen. "Hi." She said, noticing Trina.

"Hi," Trina responded, not aware that Susan had a lovely teenage daughter.

"This is my daughter Laurie," Susan said to Trina as she introduced them. "This is Mrs. Decker, our neighbor from across the street."

"Post and beam." Laurie said with an interested look.

"That's us!" Trina replied.

"It's a great house," Laurie said, "I love how all the glass frames the stone."

"Are you interested in architecture?" she somewhat incredulously asked the slender seventeen year-old.

Susan responded for her. "Laurie's interested in a lot of things. She's our resident overachiever."

"I see the resemblance," Trina replied with a smile. The Miller family intrigued her more and more every day.

Looking at Laurie brought Trina back to her teenage years. How different they had been from her life now. Trina could remember what she thought her future life would be like, and what she imagined was nothing like she was living. She had started the job in 1962, at age 21, as a flight attendant at the insistence of her mother, who thought that the opportunity to meet other beautiful girls like herself and travel the world. Instead, much to mother's dismay, she and met and married Tom Decker, who was perfect for her, even though he was 7 years older than her. Also to her mother's dismay. But it had worked out just fine, and these twelve years of her marriage had been some of the happiest times in her life. She was glad to leave the life she had as a teenager: her aforementioned overbearing mother, who was a bit of a socialite with her membership in the school board.

There was no doubt in Trina's mind that she was satisfied the way her life had turned out. Her teenage years had not seemed that long ago, but looking at Laurie and the no-doubt endless opportunities a girl like Laurie had in front of her, she wondered what Laurie thought about her life. Did she possess the general unsatisfactory view of life that all teenagers, regardless of the year, seemed to experience?

Trina was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of another front door slamming. This time, it was Tom, entering the house looking exhausted as he pulled off his captain's hat.

"Jeez, what a day!" Tom said. He had noticed Trina still looking a bit lost in thought. "What's the matter, babe?"

"Oh nothing," she replied. "Just thinking about when I was a teenager. It's not important."

"If you say so," Tom said, still looking unsure about the true feelings of his wife.

"Let's go out tonight," Trina suggested. "We haven't been out in awhile. Let's invite Bruce and Susan."

"Bruce and Susan?" Tom said a bit dubiously. "We haven't seen them in awhile."

"Exactly. We're long overdue for a good time with them." And with that, Trina headed out the door to the Millers' house across the street. Trina was so glad that she had come across a friend like Susan, who always seemed to put Trina in a good mood. She loved how honest, real, and in touch with herself Susan seemed to be. Trina bet Susan would understand her train of thoughts better than anyone else.


	3. Chapter 3: Janet

AUGUST 1976

Janet Thompson stood in the kitchen of her home on Garland Avenue, putting the finishing touches on the cherry pie she was bringing over to Susan's for their weekly bridge night. She was really rather surprised that Susan had suggested re-kindling bridge night at the end of the summer. Susan and Janet had seemingly lost a bit of their once-strong relationship with the arrival of the Deckers, whose arrival brought more than just new neighbors. Janet supposed Susan's proposal had something to do with the fact that summer was pretty much over, and soon would be the Deckers' pool parties as well. Regardless, Janet was happy to spend time with her best friend. In addition, it would be good for BJ to be able to spend some time with Ricky. The Millers' son had seemed rather depressed to Janet ever since his friend? Girlfriend? Whatever she was, had left to live with her cousin. Something about her mother going into rehab? Janet didn't like to be one to gossip, but she'd heard a great deal about it from Susan since it was affecting BJ so.

Pausing to think about BJ's situation, it was hard for Janet to fathom that BJ was growing up and would be entering high school in the fall. This, of course, meant her son, Rick, would be as well. It seemed like only yesterday to Janet that she had and Susan had been sending off BJ and Rick for their first day of kindergarten. How fast would the next four years pass? She didn't even want to think about it. She was so glad that BJ and Rick had stayed so close. A few weeks ago, they had gotten into a bit of a fight regarding Samantha, actually, recalling the talk she had with Rick at the Millers'. How proud she had been of Rick after that conversation. He had a lot to learn, but Janet could clearly see the changes that had taken place over that fateful summer.

Thinking about Rick at his tender age took her back to her teenage years. Unlike Susan, she hadn't met her future husband until she was out of college and working in the mailroom for The Chicago Tribune. Roger Thompson had been one of the delivery men on the weekends, and after a bet from a co-worker that Roger wasn't her type, Janet, being the ever-competitive woman she was, proved that co-worker wrong and ended up marrying Roger after a year of dating. To her, the family she and Roger had created was just perfect. She was completely satisfied.

Thinking about the whole drama between Rick, BJ, and Samantha that summer, she wondered what the standards were for kids these days. When she had married Roger, she had no doubt n her mind that he was the right one for her. She wondered if BJ and Samantha felt that as well, or all this was still just a part of their duty of drama as teenagers. The conversation that she had with Rick a few weeks before again popped into her head. If Janet's son was capable of surprising her like that, then surely BJ was just as mature.

She snapped out of her thoughts as Rick and BJ entered through the kitchen door.

"Mom, can we go downtown to the new record shop?" Rick asked. "We're going to meet some kids in the neighborhood there."

"Of course, Rick," Janet answered, happy to see that Rick was making some new friends before he started high school. Hoping that she wouldn't embarrass BJ by asking, she cautiously added, "How is Samantha doing, BJ? Have you heard from her?"

BJ looked a little surprised, but answered that she was fine nonetheless. "I just got a letter from her yesterday."

"Great. That's great. Well, run along now," Janet urged, hoping to dispel the awkwardness that Rick was sure to make a comment on in seconds. As she watched the two boys head out the door and gather their bikes, she thought about how lucky she and Susan were to have such great kids who were happy with their lives. She was suddenly very excited for Trina's baby to arrive in April. "How life goes on!" she thought with a smile.


End file.
